Complaints over adverts fall

COMPLAINTS about tasteless, indecent or misleading advertisements fell more than 1,000 to 9,420 last year, according to figures released yesterday.

At the same time, the number of inquiries to the Advertising Standards Authority from publishers and advertisers who wanted advice before running an advertisement almost doubled to more than 6,000.

In its annual report, the self-regulatory body said this was 'an encouraging sign that publishers and advertisers are checking their advertisements more carefully before committing themselves to print'.

Complaints from the public were down from 10,604 in 1991 when the clothing firm Benetton's controversial poster campaigns led to a flood of protests. A total of 1,164 complaints were upheld last year and the authority asked for 513 adverts to be withdrawn or amended.